Improvement in vibrating propellers



UNITED STATES SAMUEL MARDEN, OFNEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO 0. W. LORD, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN VIBRATING PROPELLERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 196,240, dated October 16, 1877 application filed September 10, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL MARDEN, of Newton, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Propellers for Navigable Vessels, of which the following is a specification:

This invention, which is designed to supersede paddle-wheels as a means of propelling navigable vessels, consists, primarily, in a pair of blades or vanes, pivoted to the lower end of an upright shaft, which, in turn, is suspended from a cross-head or carriage which trc vels to and fro on suitable guides or ways affixed to the guards of the vessel, the vanes being so arranged that, as they move in the direction which the vessel is taking, they close together, and present little resistance, but, when driven in the opposite direction, exp and automatically, and offer an extended surface to the water, and impel the vessel forward, these strokes being repeated, alternately, at a rate of speed adapted to the required speed of the vessel.

The invention further consists in mechanism for reversing the position and presentation of the blades when it is desired to back the vessel or to turn her about, such reversing mechanism being as hereinafter stated.

The drawings accompanying this specification represent, in Figure 1, a cross-section, in Fig. 2 a plan, and in Fig. 3 an under-side view, of mechanism embodying my invention.

In these drawings, A represents a rectangular horizontal frame, which is to be applied to the guards of the vessel upon each side, in the place occupied bythe paddle-wheels of sidewheel steamers; or the side rails to a of the frame A may represent rails applied to the guards of the vessel, as in either event they constitute ways or guides for the cross-head B, to be explained. This cross-head is a substantial metallic block, disposed between the ways or slides a a, and adapted to slide to and fro between them and be guided by them, after the manner of piston cross-heads of steam-engines.

\Vithin the center of the head B, I swivel the upper end of an upright shaft, 0, which thus becomes suspended from and below such head 5 and to the lower end of said shaft I pivot, at their inner edges, two twin-shaped paddles or vanes, D D, in such manner that, when forced in one direction through the water by the movement of the shaft at the hands of the cross-head, they shall fold closely together and offer little resistance to the water, but, when forcedin the opposite direction, shall expand into an extended surface and offer great resistance to such water, and by this resistance serve to propel the vessel forward.

As it is essential to provide a propeller of this character with means for changing the position of its vanes, and reverse the direction of their impact with the wateras, for instance, in changing the direction of the vessel in backing, in which the vanes of both propellers are to be changed; or in the event of desiring to turn the course of the vessel to a considerable extent, or put her about, when one propeller is allowed to act without change and the blades of the other reversed-I proceed as follows in carrying out one plan by which the reversal of each or either propeller may be accomplished.

The upper extremity of the propeller-shaft is secured to one side of a circular head or disk, E, which is disposed in a cavity created in the top of the cross-head B; and to the top of this headvE, I secure'a sectoral or circular plate, F, having a segmental (in this case a half-circle) toothed rack or pinion, G, out upon its periphery, while operating in connection with this rack is a straight-toothed rack, I,

out upon the edge of a tilting bar, J, which is hinged at its outer edge to the upper surface of one of the guides or ways a, and so situated with respect tothe sectoral rack or pinion Gr that when lowered into the same plane as the latter the teeth of the two shall engage,

the result of this engagement being that, as the cross moves across the ways, the pinion, and with it the disk E, shaft 0, and propellerblades D D, are rotated to the extent of half a circle, and the position of said vanes thereby reversed.

To securely hold the propeller-blades in their due position fore and aft the vessel, I dispose upon the under side of the cross-head B, and opposite the disk E, a second circular plate, K, which is secured to the former, and turns with it, and I cut in opposite sides of this stopplate K a notch, 71 or 1;,- while to operatcwith edge of the cross-head B, asshown at a a tilting lover or latch, c, the inner and shorter 1 arm Or nose at of which engages the notch Z; or

1), while the opposite arm 6 extends outward below the wayor guide a. 1 11 1 1 depressing the arm 0 of the latch c the 1 nose of such latch is raised above the plate and out of the notch 11,: the saidplate 1K, and 1:with'it the disk '13 and propeller sl1aft1and; blades, being free to be revolved bysuitable' 1 means until a hall-revolution :is 1 efiected, and 1 1 theoppositc notch arrives at, or coincides with, 1 the latch, when the latter is released, nd its 1 nose enters the last-named notch. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1Wh en the raclebar J is lowered, in the act 1 1 10f reversing the position of thepropeller shaft 1 and blades, iti necessary that the locking- 4 1 latch; 01 should be releascdfrom its hold upon; 1 1 the stop-plate K; :1mdin ordcr to effect thisrelease automatically and synchronously with the engagement of the rack-bar with the sec- 1 toral pinion G, I secure to the under sideof 1 the raelcbar :ahorizontal bar or rod ,1f, which 1 extends downward through a slot or opening. in: the adjacent guide (,iiblld when in 1an1in- 1 active positiouthat is, when the rach-baris elevated and out of 1 engagement witlrthe pin ion:- docs not protrude below the lower face 1 1 of such guide. 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 11 When the rack-bar J'is lowered in the act of engaging the :pinion, the rod or ar fis also 1 lowered, in consonance with it, below the onas the latch c in its approach wipes against this bar f, the longer arm of such latch is low cred and the stop-plate K released, when the rack and pinion engage, and the position of the propeller-shaft and blades is reversed, as before stated. It is observed that the length of the rod or bar fis such that it acts upon the latch. c slightly in advance of the contact of the rack and pinion, in order that the release of the pinion may take place before its rotation by the rack begins.

The rack-bar J and rod fare to be situated centrally of the path of movement of the cross-head, in order that the reversal of the propeller blades may be effected at either traverse of such cross-head, while to effect the requisite raising and lowering of the rack-bar J, I erect upon the guideway a a post, 9, which extends upward through an opening in such bar, and to the top of the post I pivot an cecentric, 71, the longer arm of such eccentric being provided with a handle, 2', by which it may be depressed and held with considerable power.

WVhen it is desired to lower the rack-bar into engagement with the pinion G, the handle or lever i is depressed, and the eccentric h accomplishes the lowering of such rack-bar.

The lever 27, by suitable connections, is to be imder the control of the pilot or captain of of the vessel, whether backing and filling, or

1 turningaboutin her course, are p erfectlyunder 1 i the control of such pilot or captain from tl1e deck or wheel-house. 1 For this reason the present complicated system of signaling to the en- 1 gineer, and the delays and mistakes sometimes attending it, are done away with, and the only duty of such engineer is to attend to his en 1 gines.

1 To 1 effect the requisite reciprocating move ments of the cross-head and propeller to and fro of the guides a a, Isecure' to one 1 end of such crosshe'ad a rod,k, tlie othcr end of such 1 1 1 1 rod being connected tot-he piston of a steam-1 cylinder, for instance. 1 1 1 instance, as are employed in: steampumps now in general use, in which the valve is operated 1 by anarmz applied to the piston-rod, such pis-1 1 ton rod being connected to the cross-head l3 of my propeller. prefer a power of thisin 1 true for the reason that such a motor is very simple and'strong, and transmits itspower d1-1 1 rectly, and is not liable toderangement, and

is .muchlessexpensive than a marine engine. 1

I 1 I do not restrict nryself to the use of the 1 1 tilting raclcbar and segmental pinion herein 1 1 1 explained as a means of Z effecting the reversal 1 1 ofthe propellcr-blzules, as it is evident that 1 various equivalents of such devices may be 1 1 1 employed, since they are but details of nicclt: i 1 anism toieife'ct themo'vements of an impnrtan t de-r side of the guide a, the result being that, 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 shaft and blades, and the rack-bar hinged to the guideways, and engaging at proper times the pinion, the whole beingsubstantially as and for purposes stated.

2. The tilting latch or looking lever c,- in combination with the stop-plate K and rod f, substantially as and for purposes stated.

3. The combination of the rack-bar J and sectoral pinion G with the propeller shaft and blades and intermediate mechanism, substantially as described, whereby, upon descent of the said bar to engage the pinion, the lock which holds the propeller in position is released automatically, the whole being essentially as and for purposes stated.

4. The combination, with the rack-bar J, of the eccentric h and lover i, substantially as and for purposes stated.

SAML. MARDEN.

l'Vituesses F. CURTIS, L. A. CURTIS. 

